The Sad Goddess

The world fades again and anger at the man is replaced by regret, sadness and a bit of hope.

Cynthia feels someone offering her something and her mind forms the sensations into something she could 'see'

a vast version of the goddess statute illuminated by a gold orb with hands open as if offering orb while the rest of her body is so large it disappears into the dark beyond the light.

She is offering Cynthia a chance to set everything right once more.

But it will not be easy, impressions of temptations loss and pain flicker through the dark.

Whispers of rejection and irreversible changes.

Cynthia shakes her head, if she can help one person not be sad, that would be enough.

A nod of gratitude.

the light dims.

The world fades back in around Cynthia and resolves into a pair of kind brown eyes framed by bright orange curls.

No one from the village looked like that she thinks.

Her eyes widen in fear

No one from the village looks like that!

She launches a kick with all her strength to the man's groin and rolls to the side, vaulting up the tree branches back into the clearing and charging to the village.

On the outskirts she pulls up short, bright splashes of color interspersed between the houses still used by the villagers.

Taking a moment to gather all the information together she comes to the conclusion that one of the rare visits by a traveling caravan is under way.

She picked her way discretely to the house she shared with Grandpa and all the children then watched for a while as the elders of the traveling troupe sat exchanging news with the village elders and the mothers tended the village children.

No young or middle aged men were visible.

Grandpa saw her and waved her over to him.

"There you are Cynthia my dear, when you did not return in time for dinner we got worried. Luckily this caravan arrived and Ronadlo was willing to send his son Alberto looking for you at the clearing."

Cynthia winces as the mystery of the young man is resolved and the Alberto in question comes hobbling into view.

With out the haze of panic Alberto was very attractive.

Patchwork long sleeved vest in a riot of colors leaving his tanned and muscular chest exposed without sacrificing too much skin to briars and bites. His orange curls, that would have been a bit past shoulder length if straightened, were flame bright in the golden light.

Pinned and sewn around the edges of the vest were ornaments of many metals clicking together like a walking wind chime. Supposedly this was a method to ward off evil spirits.

Grandfather and Renaldo looked him over,

"Are you okay my boy?" Renaldo asked when Alberto got close enough.

Alberto glanced discreetly at Cynthia, who flushed in embarrassment, before replying,

"I came across a deer who startled me as much as I it and, well, lost my balance." He answered.

Grandpa and Renaldo laughed and dismissed the youngsters.

After washing up and grabbing a could slice of meat Cynthia sat in a spot of dying sunlight as the men started trickling in from all corners and turned the atmosphere of the village festive.

She had pieced together that instead of moving on after seeing the desperate straights of the village the travelers had chosen to offer their services for a few days in exchange some of the spare lumber that would have gone bad soon anyway.

Now between doing light repairs on the wagons they were going to help make things a bit more homey and less abandoned feeling.

A fire had been built up and dancing had begun, Cynthia was content to just sit and listen to the sounds of life around her.

A rustle of fabric and she opened her eyes to see Alberto on the plank bench beside her, looking like an efrit in the fire glow.

Awkwardly he opened his mouth "I am sorry for startling you earlier. With out light or getting that close I could not tell if you were injured from a fall or exhaustion."

He must have read something on her face "Not that I think you are a slacker of weak or that you are looking bad. It is just with the state of the village and your elders freely admitting there was only one able body for them to rely on I figured you might have pushed yourself to hard."

It was difficult for her to be irritated with him, between it being three years or better since she had last talked to someone her own age and his sonorous yet clear bass voice, he put her at ease.

She listened as he talked after that and he readily filled the time with small and light things from the outside world.

The beauties of Autumn in the north, the clear reflections of the Oases in the east, the flavors of fish from the southern oceans, and the resilience of farmers in the west.

Overhanging it all was sorrow and dread as he skittered around the darkness taking place far away, but for tonight they could ignore it.

His people had brought hope for a while, and he had brought light.

Lulled by the dying bonfire and intoxicated by the tone of his voice, she leaned over and kissed him.

No one who knew her, even herself, would have considered her loose of forward, but she was of the age where tumbles in the hay loft were expected and mostly ignored as long as no child or shirked chores came of it.

He started in surprise for a moment, she backed off worried that she had offended him before he leaned in and returned the kiss.

Cynthia almost felt like she was glowing with the heat of passions she did not know she had.

His lips faded away from her and she opened her eyes.

Glowing particles drifted and twisted into a pair of daggers.

Surprise and shock turned to outrage, blinding her to her surroundings and the daggers.

If he was going to kiss and run he could have at least waited till his people were about to leave, so it would not be awkward when they inevitably had to work together.

To her continued embarrassment more people were coming to investigate, apparently the light she had seen when they kissed had not been her imagination.

As worried people started asking confused question the light returned and the daggers transformed back into Alberto.

A naked Alberto,

Standing in front of the entire village and caravan.